UNLABELLED
Circadian Profile of Heart Rate Variability.
INTRODUCTION
Although heart rate variability (HRV) has been established as a tool to study cardiac autonomic activity, almost no data are available on the circadian patterns of HRV in healthy subjects aged 20 to 70 years.
METHODS AND RESULTS
We investigated 166 healthy volunteers (81 women and 85… (More)

BACKGROUND
Mechanisms favoring the occurrence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) are complex and poorly defined. This study was designed to analyze dynamic changes in autonomic tone preceding the onset of PAF in a large group of patients.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Holter tapes from 77 unselected consecutive patients (63 men and 14 women aged 58+/-12 years)… (More)

BACKGROUND
Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is a sensitive and specific marker, allowing the detection of even minor myocardial cell injury. In patients with severe pulmonary embolism (PE), myocardial ischemia may lead to progressive right ventricular dysfunction. It was therefore the purpose of this study to test the presence of cTnT and its prognostic… (More)

STUDY OBJECTIVES
Pocket hematoma is a common complication after pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation. Thus, we investigated the influence of patient comorbidity, implantation strategy, operator experience, antiplatelet therapy, and anticoagulation therapy on hematoma rate.
DESIGN
Between 1990 and 2002, a total of 3,164… (More)

OBJECTIVE
The present study sought to determine the incidence of increased procoagulant activity in patients with unstable angina (UAP), and to evaluate the relationship between cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and molecular markers of hemostatic activation. Method. We studied 44 patients with UAP further classified by plasma cTnT levels. All patients received an… (More)

We designed degenerated oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers derived from amino acid (aa) sequences of the highly conserved active sites of mammalian serine proteases (SPs). These primers were used to selectively amplify, in polymerase chain reactions (PCRs), cDNA fragments coding for a SP. We used poly(A)+RNA from human brain to obtain cDNA fragments and… (More)

A higher incidence of pacemaker related complications has been reported in DDD systems as compared to VVI devices. The implantation of single lead VDD pacemakers might reduce the complication rate of physiological pacing in patients with AV block. In a retrospective study, the data records of 1,214 consecutive patients with pacemaker implantation for AV… (More)

OBJECTIVE
To determine how short and long term complication rates after pacemaker implantation are influenced by patient morbidity, operator experience, and choice of pacing system.
DESIGN
Retrospective analysis of 1884 patients who received VVI (n = 610), VDD (n = 371), or DDD devices (n = 903) between 1990 and 2001. Follow up period was 64 (34) months.… (More)

Depressed heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with adverse outcome during and after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The effects of reperfusion in AMI on the course of HRV have not been well characterized as yet. We analyzed 123 consecutive patients with a first AMI who underwent successful reperfusion (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction… (More)